Lake Berryessa

Winter Transitions to Spring

March 19, 2016

I had no real plan on my drive yesterday other than to head in the general direction of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.  It's a brand new monument, less than a year old.  It's one of the weird ones not actually administrated by the National Park Service.  The upside of that is it will get the protection of a national monument and without NPS involvement the area probably won't change a whole lot.  The downside is the NPS is very good at balancing the needs of the tourists and the environments it manages.

Common Goldeneye -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Oakland, CA

Common Goldeneye

I never got to the new national monument.  Too many distractions.  That's OK, that happens a lot.  My first distraction was two blocks from my house.  As I crossed our neighborhood drawbridge, I spotted some ducks near the mouth of Sausal Creek.  They were obviously goldeneyes, but even from the bridge I could see they weren't quite what I'm used to seeing.  These birds were either in their non-breeding plumage or molting in that direction.  That was a new one for me.

Scaup -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Oakland, CA

Lupine

I wonder if these ducks were aware that a pair of peregrine falcons reside in the the bridge next to the little beach they'd chosen to inhabit.  I'm guessing not.  Then again, I suppose that's just part of life and death for these birds.  The Central Valley wildlife refuges provide winter homes for millions of ducks and geese.  They're also great places to go to see hawks and harriers.

After shooting the ducks I headed North.  Lake Berryessa is near the Southern end of the monument.  I knew that the exit I was looking for was a few miles past the Lake Berryessa exit, but I couldn't help myself.  I've never been to Lake Berryessa.  I knew heading to Lake Berryessa would mean I wouldn't make it to the new monument, but I've never been to Lake Berryessa either, so that's where I headed instead.

One of the great things about not a having a well-defined plan is not having to stick to that plan.

Pipevine Swallowtail -- Putah Creek, CA

Pipevine Swallowtail

Once I got into the Lake Berryessa area I didn't make a stop without seeing a pipevine swallowtail.  In some places I saw dozens.  I eventually stopped taking pictures of them because I figured I'd tire of looking at the damned things in post-processing.  How many hundreds of pictures of butterflies do you need to take in one day?

Truth be told, I only took about a hundred photos of the butterflies and I didn't tire of looking at the photos while doing the post-processing.  Butterflies are one of my favorite subjects.  They don't seem to spook as easily as birds but they also don't stay in any one place for very long, so they're a challenge to photograph but also not impossible.

I saw a monarch near home yesterday as I started this drive and realized I never made it to the monarch grove in Pacific Grove this year.  Argh.  Well, this little trip kind of made up for that.  I wasn't photographing monarch, but I had no idea how plentiful these swallowtails could be.

Pipevine Swallowtail -- Putah Creek, CA

Lake Berryessa, CA

I didn't actually stay long at the lake once I got there.  I took a few pictures then turned around and headed home through Napa.  I will definitely return, most likely with my kayak.  I was surprised at how hilly the area was.  I always think of the Napa area as being relatively flat.  The valley is, obviously, that's why it's called a valley (duh).  The hills in Napa are very pretty and a little more wild and rugged than I realized.  I want to spend some more time there.

Osprey -- Lake Berryessa, CA

Napa, CA

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline

Neighborhood Critters

January 24, 2016

I feel like I've been neglecting the neighborhood wildlife lately.  It's winter, I should be out collecting those local bird pictures.  I haven't been doing that.

I've been a little under the weather over the last week.  I figured if I wasn't up for a decent day trip I could at least get out and at least make up for a little lost local time.

So, let me introduce you to my neighbors.

Western Gull -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Alameda, CA

Bufflehead

I live a block from the Oakland/Alameda Estuary.  As you can imagine, we see a lot of seagulls.  I don't take a lot of pictures of seagulls, though.  They're too damned hard to identify.  I keep my out for easy ones.  Ring-billed gulls.  California gulls.  Western Gulls.  Adult gulls, no juveniles.  I've got no chance with juveniles.

Bufflehead -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Brush Rabbit

Rabbits and ground squirrels are common on the shoreline.  Brush rabbits can be found just about anywhere while black-tailed jackrabbits stick to a particular fenced-in are of the MLK Shoreline.  At night they seem to spread out across the entire fenced-in area, otherwise they tend to stick to the back corner.

Black-tailed Jackrabbit -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

What keeps the rabbit population in check?  Poachers, for one.  I've heard stories of shotgun shells being found in the rabbit corner and the population being decimated only to rebound in a few months.  I'm not sure if there's anything to those stories.  Northern harriers are commonly seen in the area, as is the occasional cooper's hawk.  I expect the main cap on the potential rabbit population growth is this particular red-tailed hawk shown in the picture below.  It's rare to visit the area near Arrowhead Marsh in the morning and not see this individual bird, and he/she has been there for at least three years.  I've even seen the bird eating a rabbit in a tree.

Red-tailed Hawk -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Greater White-fronted Goose

Canada geese are always around in winter.  Sometimes a few greater white-fronted geese will stop by as well.  Last year one had an injured foot and stayed for the entire winter.

Canada Goose -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Common Goldeneye

Shorebirds are plentiful on the shoreline.  Like gulls, I tend to avoid shooting shorebirds because they can be difficult to identify.  Some aren't difficult and some are even kind of exciting.  The shoreline is one of the few places one can find a ridgway's rail.  I didn't see any ridgway's rails on Sunday, but I saw a few sora's and even a couple of virginia rails.

Sora -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

My favorite inhabitants of the shoreline are the burrowing owls.  It takes a little luck to see one.  They're only around in winter and I've only seen them early in the morning.  They look like large potatoes with big yellow eyes.  They tend to hide behind the burrow mounds so I often can only see their heads.

Burrowing Owl -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline

Or Should I Say She Once Had Me

December 11, 2013

Another post of local bird pictures?  Sure, why not.  It's really all about that picture above.  I thought is was a lot of fun the way the goldeneye makes a circle with its reflection.

Yeah, I know.  Nerd.

Fruitvale Bridge, Alameda, CA

I also like how the buildings on the Oakland side of the estuary create yellow reflections in the water.  I think it makes for some cool looking pictures.

Surf Scoters -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, CA

Lady Goldeneye

I took all of these pictures on my way to work Wednesday.  I stopped at Peet's for a cup of jo, then headed South down Doolittle.  I like taking the back roads when I'm not in a hurry, and this particular morning I felt like taking my time.I stopped at the little park on Doolittle just before the airport to shoot some bird pictures.  There's always a decent amount of bird action there.  It's not like one of the Central Valley wildlife refuges, but then again what is?

Greater Scaup -- Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

Silly Scaup

I don't know, I've been enjoying taking pictures of birds lately, and I like to read blogs of a few people who consider themselves to be birders.  I even started an eBird account to track my bird sightings.  I don't think of myself as a birder, though.  I'll definitely take a seal sighting in the estuary over any kind of bird sighting short of a bald eagle or a condor, and what are the odds those would ever happen?  

Ring-billed Gull -- Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

Identifying birds is definitely fun, though.  There's such a wide variety, it seems I'm always being surprised by the types of birds I see.  I'm definitely water-focused.  Ducks are awesome.  Geese are a little wacky.  Pelicans kick ass.  I like the hawks, too.  Eagles may be my favorite, but I've got a soft spot for the vultures and condors.  I dunno.  I guess I do like taking pictures of birds, so maybe I am a birder, or perhaps transitioning into one.  We'll see, I guess.

Ring-billed Gull -- Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA

Oakland/Alameda Estuary

There's No Place Like Home

12/7/2013

It's December in Alameda.  What's that mean?  The leaves are turning brown and the air is getting cold.  I've gotten used to it now, but I used to find it strange that the leaves wouldn't turn usually until the middle of November or so.  I've gotten used to it.  It's the by-product of the warm days of September and early October, I think.  This year things seem to be happening even later than normal.

Fall Colors Near Our House

I wasn't planning on adding a blog entry this week since I'm not going anywhere, but when I saw some surf scoters in the water on my walk to get coffee this morning I decided to go back for my camera.  I think I took enough interesting pictures to put a page together, so here it is.

The High Street Bridge Over the Oakland/Alameda Estuary

I love the fact that I can see pelicans a block from my house.  They are the goofiest looking birds.  It doesn't seem like they should even be able to fly when you see them on land.  They appear to be good at it, though.

I don't think I've ever seen a white pelican on the estuary.  I've seen plenty of brown pelicans.  They aren't around every day, though.  In fact, months can go by without seeing one.  They tend to stick around for a while whenever they make an appearance, though.  The pelican is the mascot of one of the local elementary schools.  Sam's school mascot was the sea otter.  I always thought that was pretty cool.  I've never seen a sea otter around here.  I've seen seals swimming in the estuary, though.

Surf Scoters -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary

Western Grebe

The surf scoters are what got my camera out.  Like pelicans, they're strange looking birds.  Their beaks have a weird shape and are multi-colored.  They have white eyes and a white patch on their forehead.  The strangest part to me is the white square on the back of their heads.  How does a bird end up looking like this?

Common Goldeneye -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary

Common goldeneyes seem to becoming more . . . er . . . common as the days grow colder.  They're pretty birds, so I'm happy with that.

Not bad, being able to see this wildlife on a walk to the neighborhood Peet's, no?  Shoot, I didn't even mention the hawk I saw being chased by a crow over the factories across the water.  That's Oakland for ya.  tough city.

Brown Pelican -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary

Lake Merritt

November 23, 2013

I took Pongo for a short walk around Lake Merritt today.  It's not the normal type of place I'd take him.  There are far too many people, too much stimulation in general.  Still, we had a nice little twilight stroll up and down the South shore.

Ya think he's a little excited?

I've lived around Oakland for twenty-five years, minus a couple of years that we spent on the peninsula.  I've always had mixed feelings about this city.  I love the culture and the restaurants.  Oakland's Chinatown is the real deal, not the tourist trap in San Francisco.  Lake Merritt is one of Oakland's gems.

The side of the lake we were on didn't have a whole lot of birds on it.  I guessed this would be the best spot for anything we did see given the late afternoon light.  My favorite bird from our walk was the common goldeneye we saw.  He was diving for food, which was fun to watch.

Common Goldeneye -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

There was an eared grebe that was close enough to shore that we could watch him underwater as he dove for food.  He was fast under the water, which was surprising given how he (she?) looked like a giant gray cotton ball on top of the water.

Eared Grebe -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

Of course, there were a bunch of cormorants, seagulls and coots, but most were too far away to really watch.  We saw a white pelican out in the middle of the lake.  Too far out to get a decent picture of, unfortunately.  There was a large gathering of birds on the South-East section of the lake, but it was getting too dark for decent pictures.

American Coot -- Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA

If there were fewer people I'd make this a regular walk with Pongo.  Hmmm.  Maybe early mornings?  I might give that a try.

Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA